Patton Oswalt Previews the Film Independent Spirit Awards

Friday

Feb 28, 2014 at 12:01 AMFeb 28, 2014 at 7:00 AM

The day before Hollywood's biggest stars don their gowns and tuxedos for the Oscars, they cut loose and drink up on the Santa Monica beach during the Film Independent Spirit Awards. This year, stand-up comedian/actor Patton Oswalt hosts the laid-back ...

TV Guide

The day before Hollywood's biggest stars don their gowns and tuxedos for the Oscars, they cut loose and drink up on the Santa Monica beach during the Film Independent Spirit Awards. This year, stand-up comedian/actor Patton Oswalt hosts the laid-back affair (airing Saturday, March 1 at 10/9c on IFC). "I'm doing as little as possible [to prepare]," Oswalt admits. "I want to be as relaxed and boozy as everyone I'm performing for. If I'm too focused, I'll just freak everybody out." But one tongue-in-cheek stunts has already been nixed: Oswalt will not be allowed to present live birds to this year's winners, as he had previously intended.

A huge movie fan, Oswalt notes that an event like the Spirit Awards is a great chance to mingle with stars such as Matthew McConaughey (nominated for Dallas Buyers Club), as well as up and comers like Computer Chess director Andrew Bujalski. "I get starstruck around everybody," Oswalt says. "If I get to meet a future great director when he's young, that's kind of a big deal for me."

Oswalt has also appeared in a number of memorable television roles over the last year, including guest stints on Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, as well as a regular gig as the narrator on The Goldbergs. His love of TV is most apparent to his 1.6 million Twitter followers (@pattonoswalt), who enjoy Oswalt's hilarious weekly live tweeting of True Detective and Downton Abbey. "[Downton] is such a crazy, high-shelf soap opera," Oswalt says. "It's like a Cheeto made out of the rarest corn and the finest French cheese you can find."

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